


Five Times Data and Worf Weren't on a Date (And One Time They Kinda Were)

by cosmic_llin



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: 5+1 Things, Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-08
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-07-22 09:58:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7431404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmic_llin/pseuds/cosmic_llin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Data and Worf slowly become aware of their growing attraction.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Times Data and Worf Weren't on a Date (And One Time They Kinda Were)

**Author's Note:**

> For benicebefunny in the trek-rarepair-swap on Tumblr!

Worf didn’t let just anybody share his combat holoprograms. Lieutenant Yar had always been welcome, of course, and sometimes he invited Commander Riker - but generally he liked to keep them for himself. Besides, they were much too intense for most of the crew, even the security staff. He always turned down the difficulty for Commander Riker as it was.

So he wasn’t exactly certain why he had asked Lieutenant Commander Data along. There had been no reason for it. They had just bumped into one another in Ten Forward after a shift, exchanged a few words about how the security drills were going, and by the time Worf’s brain had caught up with his mouth, he had asked Data to join him in the holodeck.

Data had accepted most enthusiastically, and now they were waiting for the fight to begin. Worf bobbed a little, his stance prepared, his mind alert. Beside him, Data was the same. The monsters rushed at them then, from all sides - and then Worf had no more time to think, he could only react, gliding smoothly into that place where instinct took over, where his muscles moved according to their long and careful training and his mind took a step back.

When they were finished, he stood with a pile of holographic bodies at his feet, breathing heavily.

‘That was most… stimulating,’ said Data, beside him.

Worf looked at him. His uniform was torn and his hair was out of place, but he wasn’t breathing hard. Worf wondered if he ever did.

‘Thank you for inviting me,’ Data continued.

‘You are welcome,’ said Worf.

It took him a long time to get the image of Data, mussed but victorious, out of his mind.

* * *

Data’s ultimate goal was to become human - or as human as possible - but he also found it valuable to learn about other cultures. His occasional forays with Worf into his holodeck combat programs had made him curious to learn more about Klingon society, and he applied himself to the task, accessing the ship’s entire Klingon database and reading steadily through it one evening, with Spot at his elbow..

Eventually though, he reached a stumbling block. He tapped his combadge.

‘Data to Worf. If it is convenient, perhaps you could come to my quarters for a moment?’

Worf arrived shortly afterward.

‘I have a question about Klingon culture, and the ship’s database does not contain sufficient detail,’ said Data, after ensuring that Worf had a drink and was comfortable. ‘In the legends of Kahless…’

They talked for hours. Worf filled the gaps in Data’s knowledge, and Data was even able to supply some information that Worf hadn’t known before. When Data spoke, Worf listened attentively until he was finished. He didn’t ask him to stop. He didn’t tell him he was giving too much detail. He just listened, and then responded in his turn. Data found it… curiously satisfying.

‘I should leave. I have the early shift tomorrow,’ Worf said at last.

Data went to the threshold with him, and as the door opened Worf paused and looked at Data. Then he shook his head.

‘Goodnight,’ he said.

‘Goodnight,’ Data replied.

* * *

As sometimes happened, Data and Worf had naturally found themselves sitting together in Ten Forward. It made sense. Their shifts finished at the same time. They both sometimes liked to go to Ten Forward afterwards. Nothing unusual in that.

‘Now, you two,’ said Guinan, approaching them with a full tray, ‘I want some opinions on these new desserts.’

‘Desserts are for children,’ Worf said.

‘I am willing to help,’ said Data, ‘but I cannot taste as humans do, therefore my usefulness may be limited.’

Guinan looked at them each in turn. ‘Worf, I don’t believe that for a second. Data, I know that but I still want your input. Here. Try this.’

Worf cautiously dug a spoon into the extravagant dessert. His eyes widened as he tasted it.

‘It’s… spicy,’ he said approvingly. ‘Quite a kick.’

‘A warrior’s dessert?’ Guinan teased. ‘All right, Data, tell me - I’m not sure about how it looks. Do you think the colours look right together?’

Data looked at the dessert. He wasn’t sure he naturally had an aesthetic sense, but he had learned a lot about art, including about complementary colours and balance.

‘Perhaps its appearance would be improved by the addition of some light-coloured decoration,’ he suggested. ‘Finely chopped nuts?’

‘Data, you’re a genius,’ said Guinan. ‘I’ll do that. And I’m leaving this one here for you two, as a reward.’

So Data and Worf shared the rest of the dessert. Since taste was more or less meaningless to Data, he let Worf have most of it.

* * *

Worf had served on away teams with Data plenty of times. This time was no different. Or it shouldn’t have been.

Perhaps it was because they were walking across a ruggedly beautiful mountain landscape - the tactical probe they were retrieving had crash-landed in an area where transporters couldn’t reach and landing spots were unreliable, and so they were hiking in from a few kilometers away. Their surroundings were undeniably beautiful - dramatic cliffs, lakes, craggy peaks against a burning orange sky. It reminded Worf of pictures he had seen of the site of the Battle of Kraylon.

And he and Data were walking there. Alone. Together.

Data was not attempting to make small talk. He knew that Worf didn’t care about that. So Worf was free to watch him as he jumped lightly across the rocks, alert to the sights and sounds around him.

It wasn’t that Klingon men never had relationships with one another. But Data wasn’t exactly a paragon of Klingon manhood. He enjoyed their combat workouts but he abhorred violence outside the holodeck. He never drank bloodwine. He almost never ate raw meat with his bare hands or sang songs about vanquishing his enemies.

Then again, neither did Worf.

Data turned and looked at him. ‘Lieutenant?’

‘I’m coming,’ Worf said, hurrying to catch up.

The sun splashed across Data’s shoulders. Worf looked at him, thoughtfully.

‘Data?’ he asked.

‘Yes?’

‘Do you know any Klingon songs?’

* * *

The attack had come from nowhere. It was supposed to be a routine mission, but it seemed that the planet wasn’t as peaceful as the First Minister had assured the captain it was. Worf and Data had both reacted with lightning reflexes, pulling out their phasers and assuming a defensive posture, back to back. This close, Data could feel Worf’s pulse, a little faster than usual.

The weapons their unknown assailants were using had an energy signature unlike anything Data had seen before. One of their beams glanced off his wrist, burning through his uniform and gouging a chunk from his bioplast epidermis. Electricity raced up his arm, leaving it limply immobile.

‘I can be harmed by their weapons…’ he said, almost surprised.

Worf’s heart rate increased, and he cursed in Klingon. ‘I will not allow them to harm you further,’ he told Data, and leaped towards the source of the shots.

After that, the battle was over quickly. Worf holstered his phaser grimly, breathing hard.

‘Are you… badly damaged?’ he asked.

Data shook his head. ‘I believe Geordi will be able to repair me. Thank you.’

‘I am glad,’ said Worf.

* * *

Late that evening, Worf heard the door to his quarters chime. Data was waiting outside.

‘I was researching Klingon mating rituals,’ he said, ‘and I encountered something which required clarification. Perhaps you could help?’

‘Anything,’ said Worf.

‘It is clear,’ said Data, ‘that in male-female couplings, the male partner should read love poetry, while the female throws heavy objects in his direction. But I cannot find any references in the database to what action should be taken if both partners involved are male.’

Worf didn’t know who kissed who first. He didn’t care. He didn’t care about anything except this - Data’s mouth on his, Data’s body hard against him, Data improvising based on his existing knowledge and throwing Worf back into his quarters and onto the floor, where they rolled together, growling, clutching, kissing, wrestling, biting.

‘Love poetry? Heavy objects?’ Data asked again, when they subsided for a moment.

Worf shook his head. ‘Later.’

‘Later,’ Data agreed.


End file.
